A small ‘though guy’ who actually is nothing of the sort, but who pretends to be something he’s not! (Just like many of us do in our ‘everyday lives’? ) This is a quite common ‘flower fly’ without any form of toxic sting. Absolutely harmless!

It’s a fact, Sue, and there are some warning signs which are not heeded they way they should! Over the last two-three years the population of bumblebees and ordinary bees has receded by more than 38%. In China they have been pollinating their apple farms by hand for a number of years already.
Imagine what will happen to the earths suply of food in another 3-5 years if the bee population drops another 30%? It’s blamed mainly on insecticides, but the farmers think ‘short term revenue’.

I think the world should pass a law (every country) that every farmer in the world ought to have at least one acre with a so called ‘flower field’ where no isecticides were allowed.
Perhaps we could curb the decrease somewhat? In the meantime they ought to find insecticides that wasn’t as harmful to bees/bumlebees as the one the use today.

Just imagine what would happen if nothing got pollinated? It would affect most anything and not only what we people are eating.

We would Starve pure and simple! ..
I saw a project somewhere in England, on a farming programme whereby they were doing just that… Allowing Fields to return to meadow land..
I have spent some time out in Austria on various vacations and the meadow lands there are unbelievable , so rich and full of flowers, and the cattle eat what is cut as hay… not this man-made chemical feeds..

Yes, we would. At least the majority of us! As I said here: In China they have been pollinating their apple farms for years! They can do that due to cheap labour, but – chinese wages are also increasing. T do something similar in the US have been estimated to 9 billion dollars a year and the final bill will come to us that purchase apples!
Pretty soon nobody can afford apples and in a future (not too far ahead) most of us will be eating red, green and blue tablets for dinner! (I’m rather happy with my age)

Yes, thats why we need to keep peoples awareness levels high in these area’s for our future generations… I understand why I have a very determined intelligent two year old granddaughter.. for they will be the ones left to pick up our left over pieces!

It may already be to late, I’m afraid. The next two years will be crucial! Working within macro photography I have noticed that bees (mostly bumblebees) are under attack from a specie of mites! Around the head and shoulders of a bumblebee there may be as many as a dozen such mites draining their life away, so it’s not only insecticides but a combination of several things. Medaows are of no use once the bees and the bumblebees have gone – but let’s hope new species might develope . . .